Are you weary of the same old hen’s nights? All your girlfriends getting married and you wish to organise something unique and memorable for your big send off into matrimony?

With you in mind, Paramount has created an exotic and stylish way to celebrate your upcoming wedding. Have you thought about hosting a beautiful gourmet picnic? Boho glamping at it’s most relaxing. Imagine sharing the afternoon with your nearest and dearest girlfriends, fully catered, complete with colourful picnic rugs, contemporary scatter cushions, striking ottomans and bolsters all styled for you. Restaurant quality cutlery, crockery and glassware, linen napkins already laid out for you upon your arrival - not a paper plate in sight! Never mind the ants, as all the food prepared by chefs will be supplied for you, and waiting in the rustic baskets to be devoured. Looking for something a little more stylish that an esky? Not a problem, your drinks station is awaiting for you complete with drink dispensers and juice. All you need to concentrate on is sipping champagne, savouring the delicious food, and luxuriating under the shade of a welcoming tree. Lawn games beckon in the distance, but can you be bothered….?

As the sunlight fades, at the conclusion of the picnic, we come and collect. No washing up from you required. Leaving you to slip on your Louboutin's and dance into the night. How simple and beautiful can this be?

Vintage has been quite a popular theme for the past couple of years. Who can forget collecting all the vegemite jars to display the garden flowers? Or, who can remember scavenging the local op shop for Grandma’s crystal cut pieces?

Today we are sharing these images of Sarah’s and Mitch's wedding at Rafferty’s Resort that we styled for her in February. Her wedding ceremony featured burlap and lace covered Mason jars overflowing with baby’s breath, a rustic arch with flowers and twine by the wonderful Peter Herd Florist.

Make sure you leave a comment below if you love this wedding!

White folding chairs, and a rose petal aisle were arranged against the magnificent backdrop of Lake Macquarie.

The reception also featured a delicious grazing table of exotic cheeses and assorted hors d’oeuvres. The bride and groom wanted a cocktail style reception - guest tables were decorated individually with a selection of vintage pieces, burlap table runners, and fresh flowers by Peter Herd.

Our vintage ladder took pride of place at the entry and was styled with tealights and fresh flower heads. Whilst our peg board proudly displayed vintage photos of family.

For more details about Sarah and Mitch's stunning day, check out this post on the Sydney Wedding blog site.

Did you know that the word ‘Cabaret’ evolved from France, and referred to any business serving liquor? The culture of Cabaret originally began in 1881 with the establishment of Le Chat Noir, in the Monmartre district of Paris.

Take your mind romping back to imagine the smoky saloon being a cauldron of artistic creativity - inspiring poets, composers and artists to engage in new ideas. But originally the Cabaret did not have a dance floor. Can you imagine the iconic movie, Cabaret and Lisa Minelli without a stage and dance floor?

We are very excited to have our new Black Glass Candelabras arrive last Friday. We are the home to 54 of the magnificent centrepiece, and they are being showcased at their very first function this Friday night the 4th September, 2015 at West’s New Lambton.

Below is a short video illustrating the details of the candelabra

[

They hold 5 candles with intricate detailing on the stem of the candelabra, plus delicate black beading adorning the arms of the candelabra. They are 80cm tall, and will make quite an impression when entering a ballroom.

Continuing on from a chat last week with our future bride Sarah, we thought we would share a few more hints and tips that she has found helpful so far….We would love to hear your feedback, if you have something to add, make sure you leave a comment below.

“You will set up my wedding the night before, won’t you?’As much as we may love to be given access to your venue the day before your wedding, often function centres will not confirm access until a couple of days before your event. Sometimes the venue will book a function the day before at short notice also. Is it wise for you to get stressed over this? Sarah, says no, that is why you hire a professional wedding stylist to install all of your wedding decorator items. Stylists expertise lies in executing this routine every weekend, and will know how much they can get done in the time frame given. They also have access to additional staff incase a luncheon is booked the day of your wedding, and the reception venue has allocated a 2 hour turn around of your room. (Yes, it does happen! All hands on deck go go go!) I will suggest that you let this conversation play out between the stylist and the function centre regarding the access times - the great thing is by using a professional, it will leave you with more time to focus on other areas of your wedding that you have more influence over - like perfecting your wedding day speeches!

Photo courtesy Arrow Photography

'You have to do what?…...'

At the conclusion of the night when your loboutins are making your feet throb, and you're eagerly waiting in the soft light on the steps of your reception venue, for your limousine to sweepyour way to your honeymoon suite to celebrate your first night together. You have one last look over your shoulder at the remnants of the day that you have poured every available moment into. You'll see all the wait staff packing up all the glassware, removing all the cutlery, blowing out all the candles. Occasionally, at the end of your wedding the function centre may request that the wedding stylist comes in and removes all the wedding decorator items at midnight. A good question to ask your wedding decorator if there 'will be an additional fee for the midnight pickup’? Often the wedding decorator may only have an hour to dismantle and pack up all of the styling items which were used at your wedding, and may have to roster additional staff in order to fill this requirement. Aren't you glad you had the foresight to organise someone else to do this for you, as you are now kicking up your heels!

Photo courtesy Bella PhotoArt

I hate the bureau of meteorology!

Are you having outdoor ceremony? We would all love to think that the weather is going to be glorious, and it would never rain, the sun always be shining, and all the guests would mingle perfectly on our wedding day. However, lamentably with unpredictable weather, especially in the summer months, it is essential that you discuss a backup plan that includes where the wedding ceremony is going to be hosted in case the heavens open. Sarah found that some function centres will hire a room to you for an hour or so in case you need it for your wet weather alternative. Generally you need to book and pay for this in advance regardless of whether you end up using this service, or not. Or, you may be one of the lucky Brides who's reception venue can also double as your wet with the alternative. Always check with your reception venue first before looking at alternative options.

I was chatting to Sarah, one of our up and coming brides last week, and she got animated when we discussed the process of choosing a wedding stylist. Sarah wanted a stylist that looked after all the details for you, but made the process as easy and relaxed as possible, without the celebrity price tag.

During our discussion Sarah identified some areas that she learnt that she really need to be aware of, so to avoid potential stressful mistakes. We have shared some of the questions that Sarah felt you should ask the potential stylist of the day of your dreams!

So, you wish to save on costs for your wedding by creating your own centerpiece idea and buying your own wedding decorations. ‘I can buy everything at the $2 store far cheaper than what a decorator can hire to me’ I hear you say. ‘If I buy it, then I own it, and I can sell it to someone else on eBay’.

Many of your will be giddy with excitement having become engaged - and rightly so! It is very exciting time in your lives - hopefully the excitement is contagious throughout your family and friends. It can also be a very confusing time where well meaning people are giving unsolicited advice (just wait until you decide to start a family!… )

We are thrilled to be able to share with you a short video from the wedding reception of Chris and Sophie, at Newcastle City Hall in November. The happy bride and groom choose our impressive crystal candelabra’s for the centrepieces, taking advantage of the height and the grandeur of the Concert Hall. The Flower Palace arranged the gorgeous flowers to be placed in the bowls of the candelabras. Our fairy lights draped from balcony to balcony completed the magical effect.

Coming into wedding season again, and we thought that we would re publish this post.... It was some great tips regarding wedding ceremonies!

I had a really interesting conversation in the Paramount Event Hire Showroom with one the Hunter Valley' s most prominent celebrants - Fiona from Heart Felt Occasions. Fiona made a comment that really resonated with me - she stressed the importance of the wedding ceremony for setting the scene and tone for your the rest of your wedding day. Fiona commented 'I have seen so many couples skimp on such items such as chairs for their guests, often borrowing mis-matched ones from friends. Or not paying any attention to decorating the aisle - a simple bamboo arch, or carpet that signals to the guests exactly where you will be walking down the aisle and 'here comes the bride'.

For refreshments on a hot spring day, Jodi also had a lemonade stand constructed out of our wine barrels and recycled wood plank. We provided the drink dispensers however the bride and groom provided the refreshments to go inside them.

Every weekend we are privileged enough to play integral role of bride and groom's wedding day, a duty we take very seriously. But when we are invited to become involved in a wedding anniversary, it is very special, especially when the beautiful couple have been a married for a remarkable 60 Years!

We were so humbled to be contacted by the family whom were organising the celebrations, which was the perfect occasion to bring all of the generations together at the Bather's Pavilion at Balmoral in December 2013.

Our crystal candelabras, were dressed exquisitely with flowers by Lisa Carnuccio floral designer at The Flower Scene, Roseville Chase, complementing our dusty rose runner and chair sashes perfectly. The talented daughter-in-law of the couple, Mari Lou, provided the silver printed runner which was placed over the top of our dusty rose runner, and accessorised with our mirrored tea lights perfectly. The silver motif on dusty rose was repeated on the menu cards, and hand written placecards.

Every so often a wedding comes along that has been so long in the planning, that you cannot believe that it is finally happening! Mel and Greg's wedding at Fort Scratchley on Friday 1st November, was one such celebration. We absolutely loved assisting Mel with styling and decorating her wedding.